The USA - how’s Obama doing?
ODD Circle Tue 28th Apl 09 at The Blue Mugge Pub
Notes using Obama’s book The Audacity of Hope and articles from www.opendemocracy.net
1. Hope’ is the word, from his book and from his speeches which carries infectious resonance. Yet, already Naomi Klein writing in The Nation this month has sign-posted ‘hopebroken and hopesick’… What are our hopes, reservations and fears?
2. Geoffrey Hodgson, director of Reuters’ Foundation Programme, Oxford
“No American president has started with more personal ability or more sheer good-will from around the world than Barack Obama…”
At the recent G20 “Obama spoke of a new, more subtle, more truthful style of leadership”.
3. We’ll seek to list actions, plans and policies outlined since inauguration and assess merits.
4. Seeing Obama from another nation’s perspective: Daniel Lichanian on France’s Obama fixation: “During the past eight years the French thought of their homeland as far superior …. Now they celebrate the USA for… an elevated politics that many fear is unattainable in France”.
5. OpenDemocracy sought views from their authors from around the world on these three questions regarding Obama: a) one thing you hope for b) one thing you fear c) one piece of advice. Here’s a summary:
From a British professor: hope; ‘take immediate and sustained action on climate change’; fear… ‘unable to break free of past policy on Israel and Afghanistan’; advice… ‘play it long’
From African Foundation for Development: hope… ‘at last, a formal apology for slavery and dispossession of native Americans – the two original sins of the Republic’; fear… ‘business as usual’; advice… ‘Trust your instincts…your appeal for change’.
From Germany: hope… ‘the USA actively engages in conflict resolution, starting in the middle-east.’ fear… ‘protectionist tendencies… US special interest groups and other international players…’ deflecting, de-railing Obama. advice: ‘Pursue global policies in the most inclusive way’.
From Egypt: hope ‘steer a course… energetic and ambitious … but not aggressive; fear: ‘could yield to the ‘wounded lion’ impulse in US politics; advice: ‘be yourself’.
From Japan: hope: ‘the world is in fact round… there are people living beyond America’s horizons’; fear: ‘Obama’s America regains confidence in the wrong way’ ; advice:
‘he remains true to his acceptance speech “I’ll always be honest with you”.
5. A quote from The Audacity of Hope: at the end of the Politics chapter:
“… in a democracy, the most important office is the office of citizen”.